Pallet container

ABSTRACT

A cage for receiving a plastic container in the overall arrangement of a pallet-type container, having a shallow tray ( 3 ) as base of the cage, the tray being arranged on a pallet or forming the top part of a pallet, and a grid casing as wall of the cage, the grid casing being connected to the border ( 28 ) of the tray ( 3 ), is constructed such that, on its bottom border, the grid casing has a web ( 19 ) which is supported on the pallet or, if the tray ( 3 ) forms the top part of the pallet ( 5 ), on a bottom part ( 11, 15 ) [sic] of the pallet and on which the tray ( 3 ) is supported by means of its border ( 28 ), and the border ( 28 ) of the tray ( 3 ), the web ( 19 ) and the pallet, or the bottom part ( 4 ) of the pallet, are connected to one another in a positively locking manner ( 31, 33; 35, 36 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a cage for receiving a plastic container in theoverall arrangement of a pallet-type container for storing and/or fortransporting substances, having a shallow tray as base of the cage, thetray being arranged on a pallet or forming the top part of a pallet, anda grid casing as wall of the cage, the grid casing being connected tothe border of the tray.

2. Description of the Related Art

A pallet-type container with such a cage is known from DE 41 08 399 C1.In the case of this cage, the border of the tray is angled horizontallyand then vertically upwards again and is thus configured as a seat forthe grid casing; the grid casing is welded or screwed to said tray. Feetare fastened on the tray in the region of the tray arch which adjoinsthe horizontal bent-away section towards the inside.

As is outlined in the patent of addition DE 42 06 945 C1, swashingvibrations caused by liquid substances and vibrations transmitted by thetransporting vehicle put this pallet-type container at risk, and this inturn adversely affects transporting safety. The solution to this problemproposed by DE 42 06 945 C1 is that, rather than the border of the traybeing bent away outwards and upwards, said border is drawn downwards andthen angled away outwards again; furthermore, a double base with hollowchambers is provided. The grid casing is accommodated at the bent-awaysection. The feet support the tray on the bent-away section.

All of this requires a high degree of production outlay. It also rendersa fixed connection between the tray and the grid cage more difficult; infact, this connection only comprises a few screws.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a further, expedient design ofa pallet-type container. The design is to allow maximum strength alongwith minimal production outlay.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a cage of the typedescribed in the introduction, in the case of which, on its bottomborder, the grid casing has a web which is supported on the pallet or,if the tray forms the top part of the pallet, on a bottom part of thepallet, and on which the tray is supported by means of its border, andthe border of the tray, the web and the pallet, or the bottom part ofthe pallet, are connected to one another in a positively locking manner.

The web preferably comprises an essential U-shaped profile, whichsurrounds the bottom ends of the grid bars. This configuration makes itpossible to achieve high strength. The grid-bar ends may be welded tothe two legs of the U-shaped profile. The weld points are only subjectedto shear loading, and are thus loaded to a lesser extent than in thecase of the abovementioned prior-art arrangement subjected to tensileloading. Even pinning of the grid bars to the two legs throughout wouldbe possible in a comparatively simple manner, i.e. a positively lockingmechanical connection which is at virtually no risk of rupturing.

The tray preferably has cutouts on the border for the through-passage ofthe grid bars and, between the grid bars, is supported on the web. Inthe case of the U-shaped profile, this thus allows support on both thelegs of the profile. In principle, however, and depending oncircumstances, support could also be restricted to the inner U-leg. Thewebs could also be of a different design and be seated on the grid barson one side such that the border is located beside the grid bars.

A particularly advantageous development of the invention consists in thefact that the web comprises a profile which is flanged with the borderof the tray. The flanging over the length of the border is considerablystronger than individual weld points. Moreover, it requires lessproduction equipment. In addition, it allows a plastic tray to beconnected to a metal grid casing. However, a combination of flanging andwelding is also possible.

To give further details, the outer leg of the U-shaped profilepreferably has an outwardly directed angled section on which the borderof the tray is located, and the flanging is carried out after the angledsection and above it. The border of the tray preferably has an upendedsection which is flanged together with the border of the profile and isenclosed by the border of the profile in a positively locking manner,said profile border preferably also being upended to begin with. Theseconfigurations are favourable in terms of both strength and production.

Otherwise, the parts are preferably connected by means of screws whichengage through the border of the tray and through the web, or past thelatter, into the pallet or the bottom part of the pallet. This producesa tensile connection throughout all the parts. With a sufficient numberof screws, this connection could possibly replace the flanging.

However, other connecting means would likewise be possible, also otherscrewed connections, for example into the web from beneath.

The screws are expediently combined with spacers which span the distancebetween the border of the tray and the pallet, or the bottom part of thepallet, in order to support the tensile force of the screws and thus topermit a fixed screw connection without bending the web and/or theborder of the tray. The spacers are preferably sleeves which enclose thescrews. They may also be in the form of bored blocks.

In a particularly advantageous configuration of the invention, thesleeves pass through the border of the tray and bear on the border bymeans of a flange formed on them.

The flange then acts as a washer, and the sleeve can be inserted fromthe outside together with the screw.

The tray preferably has downwardly directed stamped formations whichextend, at least approximately, into the plane of the bottom border ofthe web. As a result, a forklift truck can reliably grip beneath, andtransport, the pallet-type container, if the tray forms the top part ofthe pallet; the pallet-type container rests directly on the fork bymeans of the webs and the stamped formations. When positioning the cageon a wooden pallet or a plastic pallet similar to this, the tray issupported on the top boards of the pallet by the stamped formations. Ifthe top part of the pallet is formed by the tray itself, then the bottompart of the pallet has a crossmember which supports the tray frombeneath.

It is proposed as being particularly advantageous in combination withthe web provided according to the invention that the grid casingcomprises intersecting vertical and horizontal grid bars, and thehorizontal grid bars comprise an open profile which has two outwardlybent-away borders located in the same plane, and the vertical grid barslikewise comprise such a profile or comprise a closed profile which hasat least one planar profile wall, and the horizontal grid bars areassembled with the vertical grid bars with the bent-away borders buttingagainst one another, or with the bent-away borders of the horizontalprofile bars butting against said planar profile wall of the verticalprofile bars, and are welded to one another at the abutment surfacesand/or joined to one another by stamping and/or punching. The web canalso be fastened well on the planar bent-away borders or abutmentsurfaces of the vertical profile bars. This applies, in particular, tothe form of the U-shaped profile, of which the two legs can then haveplanar surfaces of contact with the grid bars and can be welded hereappropriately well.

After the two bent-away borders, the open profile of the horizontalprofile bars at least should merge into two parallel wall sections and,with a slight bend, these should be adjoined by a trapezoidal residualcross-section.

The pallet-type containers can move apart from one another at thetrapezoidal residual cross-section if, in the event of beingaccidentally set down adjacent to one another, their grid casings becomeentangled.

If it is desired to increase the strength or to reduce the possibilitiesof accidents, the bent-away borders can be folded over at the borderedges. The profile is thus stiffened and the border edges are rounded, alarger radius being produced at the same time.

For the top border of the grid casing, it is proposed that the grid-barends are pressed flat and surrounded by a profile which butts againstthe grid-bar ends by means of two parallel borders and, likewise on bothsides, is welded to said grid-bar ends and/or joined to them by stampingand/or punching. This produces a strong top border for the cage, onwhich a further, identical pallet-type container can be positioned.Moreover, in order to increase the stability, in the vicinity of theirtop ends, various mutually opposite vertical grid bars are to havetransverse bores in which crossmembers which are laid over the plasticcontainer and engage on the relevant grid bars, by way of forked endshaving corresponding bores, are pinned to these grid bars. Apart fromstrengthening the cage, the crossmembers serve to retain the plasticcontainer in the cage in a positively locking manner and to prevent anypossible arching of the top of the plastic container under pressure. Afurther configuration of the subject matter of the invention provides,as base of the case, a rectangular tray, of which the base surface,which is enclosed by an arched border region, is designed approximatelyin the form of a shallow saddleback roof or tent roof, of which theborder slopes downwards slightly to both sides from the centre of oneshorter rectangle side, and then along the two longer rectangle sides,and then opens into a channel which runs on the other short rectangleside and deepens towards the centre of this rectangle side. It is herethat the outlet of the plastic container is located.

The base configured in this manner is supported against the border ofthe tray, said tray border being subjected to tensile loading in theprocess. This static concept is more favourable than the known solutionswith reversed force flux. The tray may thus be dimensioned to be morelightweight; greater stability is achieved with the same dimensions.

The proposed design of the tray and the proposed grid casing comprisinga bent, open profile, which may possibly be closed on the vertical gridbars, said profile likewise having a weight-reducing effect, provides anoverall design for the cage and pallet-type container assembledaccording to the invention which has a particularly favourable stabilityto weight ratio.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows an isometric illustration of a pallet-type container,

FIG. 2 shows the pallet-type container in a side view from the frontright according to FIG. 1, partly in central section,

FIG. 3 shows a section through a cage of the pallet-type container alongline III—III in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 shows an isometric illustration of a base framework as the bottompart of the pallet,

FIG. 5 shows a base of the pallet-type container, the base, as top partof the pallet, belonging to the base framework, in the same isometricillustration,

FIG. 6 shows a view of a grid for forming a grid casing of thepallet-type container,

FIG. 7 shows a detail designated by VII in FIG. 6, on an enlarged scale,

FIG. 8 shows the detail in FIGS. 6 and 7 as viewed from the left,

FIG. 9 shows a detail designated by IX in FIG. 6, on an enlarged scaleand as viewed from the right in FIG. 6,

FIG. 10 shows a detail designated by X in FIG. 6, on an enlarged scaleand viewed from the left in FIG. 6,

FIG. 11 shows a detail designated by XI in FIG. 3 on an enlarged scaleand in section, the section being located behind the plane of thedrawing of FIG. 3,

FIG. 12 shows, in mirror-inversion, a modification of FIG. 9,

FIG. 13 shows a modification of FIG. 10, FIG. 14 shows a modification ofFIG. 8,

FIG. 15 shows a detail designated by XV in FIG. 1, on an enlarged scale,

FIG. 16 shows a modification of FIG. 5, and

FIG. 17 shows a detail designated by XVII in FIG. 11 after the step offlanging has been carried out.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The pallet-type container 1 comprises a cage 2, of which the base, whichis configured as a shallow tray 3, is supplemented by a base framework 4to form a pallet 5, and also comprises a plastic container 6 which isreceived by the cage. The plastic container 6 is produced, byblow-moulding, in cuboidal form with rounded edges and corners. To matchthe base of the plastic container, 6, the tray 3 has an arched borderregion 7. Level with the plastic container 6, the grid casing 8 of thecage 2 is adapted to the periphery of said container.

On a rectangular frame 9 made of round steel bars, the base framework 4has four corner feet 10 and three feet 11 on the centres of one shorterrectangle side and of the two longer rectangle sides. The latter twofeet 11 are spanned by a crossmember 12. The feet and the crossmemberare sheet-metal pressed parts. Those feet 11 on which the crossmember 12is located are shorter, by the thickness of the sheet metal of thecrossmember, than the other feet 11 and 12. The crossmember 12 hasupwardly angled side walls 15 which are in shallow-gable form and arebent away outwards again at the top border. In correspondence with thecrossmember 12 tapering towards the centre, the side walls 15 areinflected slightly. The shallow gable form of the crossmember 12 ismatched to the cross-sectional shape of the base 3, which thecrossmember supports from beneath, and this cross-sectional shape willbe described at a later stage in the text. Formed on the corner feet 10are positioning surfaces 13, which project obliquely towards both sides,and thus, at the same time, lateral protrusions 14. The feet 11 havecorresponding positioning surfaces 13 and protrusions 14 on one side.Through-passages 16 for self-tapping screw threads for fastening thegrid casing 8 and the tray 3 are made on the top sides of the cornerfeet 10, feet 11 and crossmember 12.

The grid casing 8 has been produced from the grid shown in FIG. 6 bybeing bent at the four side edges of the cage 2 and closed at the centreof one narrower side surface.

The grid is made up of vertical grid bars 17, horizontal grid bars 18, aU-shaped profile, which forms a web 19 and surrounds the bottom ends ofthe vertical grid bars 17, as well as a profile 20 which surrounds thetop ends of the vertical grid bars 17. The grid bars 17 and 18 comprisea hat profile which, on a cross-sectionally square profile section 21,has two outwardly bent-away borders 22. At the points of intersection,the grid bars butt against one another by means of the bent-away borders22 and are spot welded, projection welded or resistance welded on thecontact surfaces, as is indicated in FIG. 7 at 23. FIG. 14 shows themodification where the profile section 21 is replaced by a section madeup of a rectangular cross-sectional part 24 and a trapezoidalcross-sectional part 25.

The cross-section of the web 19 is illustrated in FIG. 9. In theU-shaped profile of the web 19, the hat profile of the grid bars 17,which reach as far as the base of the profile, butts against the twolegs, to be precise the bent-away borders 22 butting against the outerleg and the end surface 26 of the profile section 21 butting against theother leg. Welding is possible on all three contact surfaces. It iscarried out at least on the two bent-away borders 22. The outer profileleg is bent outwards at right angles, this producing a horizontalbearing surface 30 and a vertical flange border 31. Level with thesection which has been bent at right angles, the inner profile leg isfolded over and thus forms a stiffened rest 32. Further details will begiven of these functions.

At the top border of the grid, the hat profile of the grid bars 17 ispressed flat at 27. The profile 20 which is placed in position heregrips the pressed-flat section on both sides and is welded thereto onboth sides. The grid with its favourable strength to weight ratio,straightforward and controlled welding and the possibility of all-roundgalvanization could also be used, with or without surrounding profiles,for purposes other than the pallet-type container described, andpossibly also in an arrangement in which those grid bars which run inone direction are not aligned vertically and those grid bars which runin the other direction are not aligned horizontally; furthermore,connection of the grid bars to the abutment surfaces could be executeddifferently, e.g. by a combination of welding and joining.

The arched border region 7 of the tray 3 is adjoined by a border 28which is angled into the horizontal and, at the end, the tray has anarrow upended section 33. The upended section 33, however, would not benecessary. In the manner illustrated in FIG. 11, the tray 3 is laid, bymeans of the border 28, on the rest 32 and the bearing surface 30 of theweb 19, the grid bars 17 being located in cutouts 29 in the border 28which are adapted to them. In the production of the cage, the tray 3 isintroduced, from above, into the grid casing 8 which, at this stage, hasbeen shaped but has still not been welded closed and is therefore stillloose. Once the tray is located on the web 19, the grid casing is closedby its horizontal-bar ends, which overlap one another, being weldedand/or joined by stamping and/or punching. In this state, the flangeborder 31 of the web 19 and the upended section 33 on the border 28 ofthe tray 3 are flanged to one another, as shown in FIG. 17. Welding isalso possible, e.g. of 6 to 7 mm in width and at distances of from 20 to30 mm from centre to centre. Spot welding, projection welding or seamwelding are envisaged in particular. The now finished cage 2 is mountedon the base framework 4. The final state of this mounting operation isshown in FIG. 11, with the exception of the left-hand circled detail,which illustrates the abovementioned earlier state of the mountingoperation and, in the end state, should be replaced by one of the twocircled details on the right.

The cage 2 is located with the web 19 on the feet 10 and 11. Via eachfoot 10 or 11, a sleeve 36, through which a screw 35 passes, is insertedinto the web 19 through a bore 34 in the border 28 of the tray 3. Thesleeve 36 is located on the border 28 of the tray 3 by means of a flange37 and on the base of the U-shaped profile, which forms the web 19, bymeans of its bottom end. The screw has its fillister head 38 seated inthe top end of the sleeve 36 and itself engages through a bore in thebase of the U-shaped profile and into the through-passage 16 made in thefoot, at which location it has tapped itself a thread. At the two feet11 which bear the crossmember 12, the web 19 is located on the sheetmetal of the crossmember 12 which, over the through-passage 16 of thefoot 11, has a clearance 39 of somewhat larger cross-section, the screw35 passing through said clearance 39.

The length of the sleeve 36 is dimensioned such that the flange 37presses on the border 28 of the tray 3 and the bottom end of the sleeve36 presses on the base of the web 19.

At the centre of one shorter rectangle side, the tray 3 has an indent40. In this case, however, the border 28 is spanned by a support 41which is curved out downwards and takes the place of a foot 11 in thepallet 5. Above the indent 40, the plastic container 6 also has a recess42. Located in the resulting space is a discharge stub 43, which onlyappears in FIG. 2, with a discharge valve 45 which can be actuated by ahandle 44. The discharge stub 43 is fitted on a protuberance 46 of theplastic container 6, this protuberance, at the border of the indent 40,projecting downwards into the latter.

The base surface of the tray 3 within the arched border region 7 isessentially designed in the form of a shallow saddleback roof with aridge 47 extending between the centres of the shorter rectangle sides.However, the ridge 47 and the roof surfaces also have a slightinflection to form a tent roof, this producing a shallow roof tip 48 andtwo further inflection lines 49 which extend therefrom. Accordingly, theridge 47 slopes very slightly downwards to both sides from the roof tip48 and the two further inflection lines 49 slope downwards to anoticeable degree. The roof border slopes downwards slightly to bothsides from the end point 50 of the ridge on one shorter rectangle side,and then along the two longer rectangle sides, in order finally to openinto a channel 51 which runs on the other short rectangle side andbecomes deeper towards the indent 40. The channel 51 is interrupted atthe indent 40. It only follows that with part of its cross-section,although this includes part 52 of the channel base. The protuberance 46of the plastic container 6 which is located here extends on both sidesup to the channel 51 and into the latter.

Starting from a certain preshaped formation, the base of the plasticcontainer adapts itself more or less permanently, under the pressure ofthe liquid stored in it, to the shallow roof form of the tray base. Thecontainer can thus be completely emptied in the direction depicted bythe arrows in FIG. 5.

In the four roof sections divided up by the ridge 47 and the furtherinflection lines 49, the tray 3 is provided with four downwardlydirected stamped formations 53, of which the undersides, together withthe underside of the web 19, are located in a common horizontal plane. Aforklift truck can thus pick up the pallet-type container withouttilting it. The depressions on the top side of the stamped formations 53can be compensated by filling elements.

The pallet-type container can be set down on the top profile 20 of thegrid casing of an identical pallet-type container by way of theprotrusions 14 on the feet 10 and 11. The oblique positioning surfaces13 located above the protrusions 14 have the task of ensuring that, whenidentical pallet-type containers are set down adjacent to one another,the distance which is necessary in relation to the horizontal grid bars18 is obtained. Two crossmembers 54 engage on mutually opposite verticalgrid bars 17 by means of forked ends 55 and are connected thereto bybolts 56 which are inserted through aligned transverse bores in the forklegs and the grid bars 17. The hat profile or also a closed rectangleprofile of the vertical grid bars 17 permits this method of fitting thecrossmembers, which is straightforward and favourable in terms of force.On either side of the filling opening 57, the crossmembers run in a fluxshallow hollow on the top side of the plastic container 6. They aregripped centrally by container-top webs 59 projecting out on the twoborders of the hollow 58.

All the constituent parts of the cage 2 and of the base framework 4preferably consist of galvanized sheet steel.

In the base according to FIG. 16, maintaining the basic configuration ofthe shallow saddleback roof described, cross-sectionally rectangularupwardly directed ribs 60 and 61, which strengthen the design, arestamped on the ridge 47 and the further inflection lines 49. With theexception of the points behind the indent 40, further such ribs 62 areprovided transversely at the ends of the ribs 60. The ribs 61 and 62 runbeyond the ridge 47. The ribs 62 are shorter than the rib 61, whichextends into the vicinity of the arched border region 7. Providedinstead of each of the stamped formations 53 are in each case foursmaller stamped formations 63 which are of round cross-section and ofwhich the undersides, together with the underside of the web 19, arelocated in a common horizontal plane. Moreover, the indent 40 is formedsomewhat differently. The channel 51 is fully interrupted; in this case,it terminates with two surfaces 65 which are inclined towards oneanother and towards the arched, oblique wall 64 of the indent 40 andinto which said channel merges beforehand. The configuration of the tray3 according to FIG. 5 or FIG. 16 within the border 28 is particularlyadvantageous within the context of the cage 2 described; the tray 3remains shallow and the vertical extent of the web 19 need not beundesirably large. In principle, however, this configuration may also beused in other overall designs of the cage. Furthermore, the tray may bethe base of a sheet-metal container for receiving a plastic container.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cage for receiving a plastic container in anoverall arrangement of a pallet-type container for storing and fortransporting substances, the cage comprising a shallow tray as a base ofthe cage mounted on a pallet or forming an upper portion of the pallet,and a grid casing forming a wall of the cage, the grid casing beingcomprised of a plurality of grid bars having bottom ends, the gridcasing having at a bottom border thereof a web mounted at the bottomends of the grid bars and directly supported by the pallet or, if thetray forms the upper portion of the pallet, by a lower portion of thepallet, and fastened to the pallet or the lower portion of the pallet byscrewing, the tray having a tray border configured to rest on the web,wherein the web is comprised of a profile having a flanging border andthe tray border and the flanging border of the profile are connected byflanging in a positively locking manner.
 2. The cage according to claim1, wherein the web is comprised of an essentially U-shaped profile whichsurrounds the bottom ends of the grid bars.
 3. The cage according toclaim 1, wherein the tray has cutouts at the tray border for receivingthe grid bars, wherein the tray border rests on the web between the gridbars.
 4. The cage according to claim 1, wherein the U-shaped profile hasan outer leg provided with an outwardly directed angled section, whereinthe tray border rests on the angled section, and wherein the flangedconnection is effected following the angled section and thereabove. 5.The cage according to claim 4, wherein the tray border has an upendedsection flanged together with an also upended border of the profileconstituting the flanging border, and wherein the tray border issurrounded in a positively locking manner by the flanging border.
 6. Thecage according to claim 1, comprising screws extending through the trayborder and one of through the web and past the web, and into the pallet.7. The cage according to claim 6, comprising sleeve-shaped spacersenclosing the screws for bridging a distance between the tray border andthe pallet or, if the tray forms the upper portion of the pallet, thelower portion.
 8. The cage according to claim 7, wherein thesleeve-shaped spacers extend through the tray border, wherein eachspacer has a flange formed thereon, and wherein the flanges of thespacers rest on the tray border.
 9. The cage according to claim 1,wherein the lower portion of the pallet comprises pallet feet located atcorners and centers of sides of the pallet, wherein the pallet feet havepressed-in through-passages for receiving self-tapping screw threads.10. The cage according to claim 9, wherein the pallet feet haveprotrusions combined with obliquely projecting positioning surfaces,such that the pallet-type container is adapted to be placed with theprotrusions on an identical pallet-type container.
 11. The cageaccording to claim 9, wherein the lower portion of the pallet has acrossmember for supporting the tray.
 12. The cage according to claim 1,wherein the tray has downwardly directed stamped formations extending atleast approximately into a plane of a bottom border of the web.
 13. Thecage according to claim 1, wherein the grid casing is comprised ofintersecting vertical and horizontal grid bars, wherein the horizontalgrid bars are each formed by an open profile having two outwardlybent-away borders located in a plane, and the vertical grid bars areeach formed by an open profile with two outwardly bent-away borders anda closed profile having at least one planar profile wall, wherein thehorizontal grid bars are connected to the vertical grid bars with thebent-away borders abutting against one another, wherein the bent-awayborders of the horizontal profile bars are abutting against the planarprofile wall of the vertical profile bars, and wherein the connection iseffected one of by welding and joining by stamping or punching.
 14. Thecage according to claim 13, wherein each open profile has adjacent thetwo bent-away borders two parallel wall sections and adjacent the wallsections with a slight bent a trapezoidal residual cross-section of theprofile.
 15. The cage according to claim 14, wherein each bent-awayborder is folded over at a border edge.
 16. The cage according to claim13, wherein the profiles of the grid bars are composed of bentgalvanized sheet steel.
 17. The cage according to claim 2, wherein thebottom ends of the grid bars are welded to both sides of the U-shapedprofile.
 18. The cage according to claim 1, wherein top ends of the gridbars are pressed flat and surrounded by a profile resting against thegrid bar ends with two parallel borders and connected at both sides byone of welding and joining by stamping or punching.
 19. The cageaccording to claim 13, wherein the vertical grid bars have adjacent topends thereof transverse bores, further comprising crossmembers havingforked ends provided with bores, and wherein the transverse bores areconnected by pins to the bores of the crossmembers.
 20. The cageaccording to claim 1, wherein the tray is rectangular and has a basesurface enclosed by an arched border region, wherein the tray hasapproximately a shape of a shallow saddleback roof or tent roof, whereina border of the roof slopes downwardly slightly towards both sides froma center of one shorter rectangle side and then along both longerrectangle sides and then opening into a channel running on the othershort rectangle side and becoming deeper towards the center of the shortrectangle side.
 21. The cage according to claim 20, wherein the basesurface is essentially a shallow saddleback roof with a ridge extendingbetween the center of the shorter rectangle sides, and wherein the ridgeand the roof surfaces have a comparatively slight inclination to form atent roof.
 22. The cage according to claim 20, wherein at least oneupwardly stamped rib extends along the ridge of the saddleback roof. 23.The cage according to claim 21, wherein an upwardly stamped rib extendson each inflection line of the tent roof, wherein the inflection linesextend perpendicularly of the ridge.
 24. The cage according to claim 22,comprising additional upwardly stamped ribs extending parallel to theupwardly stamped rib.
 25. The cage according to claim 20, wherein anindent is provided at a center of the other short rectangle side,wherein the channel is interrupted at the indent and terminates with twosurfaces which are inclined towards one another and towards the centerof the base, wherein the channel initially extends towards the surfaces.26. The cage according to claim 20, wherein the tray has downwardlydirected stamped formations with undersides located in a commonhorizontal plane.